Eggshell Pumps
by Deepening
Summary: Joshua tells the tale of how he wound up under a pile of women's footwear. Slight hints of Josh/Neku, and quotes from everyone's favorite shopkeeper HT Masouka!


Isn't it funny how a day can start off so amazingly well, and end up being the worst day you've had in months?

Yep, I've certainly got egg on my face, or, more precisely, a size eight eggshell pump. Not that I mind wearing them, I'd just rather them on my feet. It's only mildly embarrassing that I knocked over a rack of shoes onto myself…

…But it's extremely vexing that I, the great Composer of Shibuya, did all this over a MORTAL. A fifteen-year-old who should mean less to me than the gum on those simply terrible shoes of his, has single handedly – No, scratch that. He did have some help: Two underhanded scoundrels who were plotting this the entire time. One of them may not have known it, but he was part of the plan all along.

You see, to thoroughly explain this, I must go back a spell. Let's say…Two weeks? That was when I went to see my treacherous, sneaky Producer to talk to him about the future of Shibuya, or lack thereof.

"…So you see, I'm really quite disgusted. It's become blatant that this town is going nowhere. It'd be a waste of energy to keep running it." I finished my explanation. Sanae didn't look too happy about the idea at all. His arms were crossed, with that 'concerned' look furrowing his brow and causing his rugged face to be twisted in a frown.

"And you've told Megumi about this?" he asked calmly, as if it really didn't matter as much as it did.

"…Hm? Why would I tell him?" It had seemed irrelevant that my Conductor know about this at the time.

"Well it's his job to protect Shibuya, if you're going to erase it then he should get a chance to do his job, shouldn't he?"

"That is a valid point." I admitted. Oh how naive I was, falling right into his little trick. I don't know why I didn't suspect something when He smiled. "Hm…Actually I think I like this idea very much: One last game to end the city with a blast. How very befitting~" The chuckle escaped my throat as my mind worked out the details. I just had to set the bait.

It would be simple. Megumi would do anything to save the town he loved so much, all I had to do was mention its destruction and he jumped right into the plan. Of course, I was going to win. There was no contest really. Whoever I chose would be highly capable of handling him.

The only issue was who I would choose. As previously stated, I didn't take the souls of the people in my city too highly. They had become selfish and useless. There would be a lot of work in finding someone worthy of being my proxy, and I hate to work too hard.

So when I next spoke to Hanekoma on the phone, I was a little surprised he had an idea. Not a particularly good one, but it was an idea.

"Why don't you just pick him? Kill two birds with one stone, eh?"

The "him" of which he spoke was one Neku Sakuraba. He was a marvel in means of imagination, and I wouldn't be lying if I said he was a far better candidate than Megumi for conductor. I had considered "recruiting" him a few times… but lately his music had gone foul.

More like broken, actually-Yes, that's what it was. He'd lost something. Some person whose interactions built up his spirits had passed away. Unfortunately for him, this person was already refined. Their soul was for a higher world to deal with. To my little protégé, this accident had been all his fault. He secluded himself from everyone, and had become bitter.

Like this, Neku Sakuraba was of no use to me. I'd be surprised if it would help him at all to be in the game.

"Josh?" Hanekoma said after my long pause in thought.

Then again….wasn't that my point? "I'll consider it." I said. I didn't even give him time to respond. The composer doesn't have to say goodbye.

Looking back, it does seem a little suspicious that Sanae's choice was involved. In fact, I'm surprised I didn't realize it sooner. A reaper who wanted my job obtaining knowledge of my absence almost immediately-It all seems far too convenient. The fact that he even had the ability to find the levels of a person's music tells it all. Perhaps I should have paid a bit more attention to all that.

Makes perfect sense now.

Neku wasn't anywhere near the level of myself and Hanekoma, but to a reaper with no idea what he was dealing with, it made a lot of sense that he made the mistake. I simply had to go and interfere. It would be terrible to lose such an amazing choice for a proxy to the likes of Minamimoto.

In the end, I don't think Hanekoma suspected I would realize what was going on. It doesn't really matter considering my intentions, but I digress.

After choosing Neku, I realized what a marvel he really was. All that power and potential, and he was bottling it up, keeping all that talent to himself. Watching him in the game was terribly amusing, especially with how he clashed with the other players and refused to change.

It surprised me when I saw a change in him. Even moreso when that change brought on a change in his partner. Possibly, in some parallel world, he'd make a fine conductor, affecting Shibuya and its inhabitants so easily as a player.

It wasn't until I saw him at Hachiko, struggling for survival, that I made a sound decision to make a pact with him. It went against all rules and regulations, but he had improved so much in the past week. A part of me wanted to see how well he could do with another.

I wasn't about to lose, either.

"Howdy~" It's a sorry excuse for a joke, but I used it anyway. Not like it mattered much to Neku. Poor dense little thing- He was good at math but terrible with common knowledge. I'm pretty sure he didn't even catch it.

He looked disgusted with me. He didn't want a young, admittedly shorter male as a partner this time, I expect. He was probably hoping for a terribly strong looking guy, one who'd muscle through the noise. Not too far from his final partner, really…

Too bad~

The mission was easy. Standard first-day stuff- there wasn't even much of a puzzle to it. Minamimoto might have a high opinion of himself, but in the end, he's no more creative or unique that Higashizawa had been.

When we finished, the day ended. Of course, It didn't do much to me… I'm not really a player. Still, it seemed a fool thing to be running around when I was supposed to be out of it. I decided it better to play the role entirely. Especially since Kariya was still out and about. I sat on the phone with Mr.H, and when a reaper passed, I would pretend to be out along with my partner. Just when it was time to rise, I stood, acting as if I'd woken up before my partner. Most reapers were easy to fool.

The real story began on the third day of our game. I was talking on the phone when Neku woke up- With Sanae, of course. He didn't know that, and I sort of liked it that way.

"Yup... I'll be there today. You'll have it all ready for me, won't you?"

Neku stirred and stood up. I smiled. What a cute little confused look he gave me~ "Splendid, I gotta go. Buh-bye~" I closed the phone and watched Neku look away in thought for a second.

When a long pause occurred, he looked at his phone in irritation. Waiting for the mission mail… There wasn't going to be one, if I knew Minamimoto.

"Say Neku?" The plan whirred in my head. What a fun little trick I could play with this. I knew exactly how to make my phone beep and sound like a message, even when it was in my pocket.

He winced and looked wearily at me. "Yeeesss?"

"You're coming with me today, right? There's someplace I'd like to go." He didn't respond. "You never followed through on your promise yesterday. So today, you're making it up to me. ...Right? We haven't got anything else to do yet. So let's go take care of my stuff first."

He looked infuriated. "No way! I told you yesterday--first, we do the mission." Just a little twitch of the fingers in my pocket. It didn't catch his attention. "Then you can play around." A small wait and… "Besides, the mission could show up any sec—"

_Pii Pii_

I looked like it was a surprise. "Whoa, you're right. There it is, Neku! Let's see... 'Proceed to Cat Street. Time limit: 15 minutes.'"

As anticipated, Neku was shaken by the time and didn't even check if he had the timer. He got in such a hurry that he didn't even realize it when I lagged behind and he grabbed onto my wrist in order to drag me along.

The first time was a coincidence. I will never admit to why it happened four more times.

Neku would realize what he was doing, let go, and I would lose interest in running. Then, he would stop, snatch my wrist up again, and insist I was being too slow. The cycle would repeat itself until we reached a wall reaper.

Neku was frustrated, and quickly met the demands before he ran past AMX. This was where things got sticky.

It seemed like a harmless wall reaper tactic. My dear Neku had to dress up in clothing found at a store we passed a few blocks back. So we walked back to Cadoi, where a charming little shop called "Le Grande" was open for players.

I never really paid the cashier in this particular store much attention. He was a young boy, probably sixteen or so. He was usually apathetic towards me, but today he seemed a smidgen more cheerful to see the two of us. It wasn't until I slipped away to call Sanae that I realized which of us in particular he was so delighted to see.

_Rinngg~_

"Hey! Working up a sweat out there?"

_Rrinngg~_

"Yeah, that's a good look on you!"

_Ri-_"Feel free to try anything on! Heck, I'll even help you slip into it~"

_CLAP_

Maybe I was being irrational. Perhaps, I should have considered the consequences of being fifteen again.

You have to admit, though- _'I'll even help you slip into it~'_?!

_I _was the only one who could go that far and get away with it. If _anyone_ was going to 'help him slip into' _anything_ it would be…

That was when I made a very harsh mistake. I smacked the shelf I'd hidden behind in order to talk on the phone, and they shook. The poorly stacked shoes came toppling down on top of me.

And _that _is how I would up like this.

Neku had seen it too, I'm sure. Maybe, if I acted like I was hurt, It wouldn't be quite as embarrassing when I got up.

The shopkeeper chokes back a laugh, and I hear him yelp as if someone had smacked him.

I hear footsteps, and a hand grabs me by the shoulder, lifting me from the pile of shoes.

"You okay?"

I stare into the face of my Proxy, awestruck by the scene. The shopkeeper is rubbing his arm, looking rejected. Neku is still touching my shoulder, waiting for an answer.

"…Yeah, I'm fine."

Neku smiles at me. He looks a little embarrassed and pulls his hand away again. "G-Good." He says grumpily, "I can't win the game with an injured partner." He turns away and walks over to the counter.

"Of course not." I reply, flicking the baffled cashier and smirk. He knows what happened. I can tell.

Neku buys what he has to in order to fulfill the mission and continue on to Cat Street.

When I get there, I'm pretty sure Sanae gives me a knowing look. He's the only one that would know.

This is going to be some week.


End file.
